Chamber leads coalition for passage of City of OKC bond and sales tax proposals

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber announced today that it is leading a campaign to promote the passage of the City's upcoming general obligation bond and sales tax proposals. The Chamber and a coalition of Oklahoma City civic organizations organized as the "Citizens for a Better OKC" to share the benefits of the proposals with voters. The effort is being co-chaired by current Mayor Mick Cornett and former Mayor Ron Norick.

"When I travel around the country and talk about our city's success, I most frequently point to two things - our willingness to invest in our infrastructure and build the city we want, and to our willingness to work together to do just that," said Cornett. "This campaign represents both of those vital components."

The organizations joining the campaign coalition represent a wide variety of community interests. As of July 26, the campaign coalition includes: AAA Oklahoma, Association of Oklahoma General Contractors, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Neighborhood Alliance, North OKC Soccer Club, OKC Firefighters Association - IAFF Local 157, OKC Public Tennis LLC, Oklahoma City All-Sports, Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, Oklahoma Municipal Contractors Association, Oklahoma Transit Association, South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, and USA Softball.

"The bond and sales tax proposals give us the opportunity to continue our trend of investing in ourselves in a way that addresses our most critical needs now as well as in the future," said Roy H. Williams, president & CEO of the Chamber. "Between the general obligation bond, the temporary penny sales tax and the permanent quarter-cent sales tax, we will be able to invest $1.2 billion for a better, safer Oklahoma City."

The general obligation bond and the sales tax proposals focus heavily on two areas of concern for Oklahoma City residents: improving the quality of its streets and investing in public safety. When combined, the bond and temporary penny sales tax will invest $847 million in street improvements, bridge repair, traffic control and drainage improvements. The permanent quarter-cent sales tax will allow Oklahoma City to hire 129 more police officers and 57 more firefighters.

Mayor Norick spoke to how important the campaign is to the Oklahoma City community. "We have made such progress in the last 25 years, and we need to keep that momentum to maintain and improve this city. Surveys of city residents and business owners both show the demand for better streets and infrastructure improvements. These projects are important to economic development and to citizens' quality of life."

Learn more about the proposals or how you can get involved in the effort at www.BetterOKC.com.